


New Start

by PrincessXenia



Series: Multiverse Theory [1]
Category: Metroid Series, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types, 光神話 | Kid Icarus (Video Games)
Genre: (chapter 3), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Other: See Story Notes, Possibly OOC?, and they know that they happen to be only characters that can't affect our world, but mainly fluff, tfw when the characters know about the real world, this was supposed to be a oneshot but the first chapter got too long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 00:51:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11909793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessXenia/pseuds/PrincessXenia
Summary: Rock shows up for his job in a place he'd worked for once before after deciding to do something more in the absence of any new adventures. He doesn't particularly hate his first day back.





	1. Present

Multiverse Theory - New Start

Chapter 1: Present

 

Nintendo Founders Investigation and Protection Team… or NFIPT. A small group of individuals with their own followings in the Nintendo territory, protecting the Nintendo territory. It was only members of the Founders, a group of both the originals members who created the Multiverse in the first place, linking all the worlds together, and the characters that joined to help establish laws and meet to talk about current events and fix them, if need be.

 

After all of this, Rock would’ve never expected to be back at this building again.

 

The first time, the series was just working around with new ideas, trying to get a bigger audience with the new range of consoles and handhelds on the market. He didn’t have any new games for years, but his friends of new and old happened to. Rock took the opportunity to work, and when he was called for the ninth game, he thanked them for the work and took his leave. There was still a spark then.

 

There was no longer a spark now, and he knew that there wouldn’t be a spark again. He couldn’t comprehend how there _ would  _ be a spark… at least on the creators’ side, anyways.

 

There are two sides that allow a world in this ‘fictional’ world to live; to survive. The creators… and the fans. Without the creators, the world is on a useless loop, and both heroes and villains find interests in other things, outside of ‘reality’s’ sight. When the creators finally reveal their creation to the public, the fans put fuel into the series, allowing it to move forward.

 

Without them, he supposed he wouldn’t even be standing here today… at least one side hadn’t abandoned him.

 

_ They  _ had their reasons… but it still hurt, not being able to do your job.

 

Not being able to output the creator’s ideas and designs and entertaining the fans, one way or another.

 

He shook his head, he was late enough already. The leader of the NFIPT, who he last knew was Luigi, Mario’s brother, had said that he could come in at any time of the day, any single day during the work week. The NFIPT was voluntary, after all.

 

Regardless of who was leading, it was generous. They were always understaffed, with characters constantly moving in and out, due to new games or just simply tired of the workflow.

 

Rock didn’t expect to leave his position again anytime soon. At least he’d have some of his close friends around him.

 

He shuffled in the double doors, pulling the ID out of the pocket of his unzipped, blue hoodie, getting around the straps of his backpack carrying all his knick knacks and pictures for his own desk. The receptionist sat at the front desk, keeping an eye out for the building while the offices resided upstairs. They weren’t paying much attention to their surroundings, it seemed, as they hadn’t even given him a glance yet.

 

“Excuse me,” he greeted respectfully, finally grabbing the receptionist’s attention, “is this ID still compatible with the elevator and door scanners?” He held out the plastic, glistening ID that he used as a Founder, though it was quickly going out of style in favor of digital IDs, instead.

 

Outdated as he felt to be, he’d easily upgrade if they told him to.

 

The receptionist glanced it over and nodded. “Last we checked, yes.” They cocked an eyebrow with a small smirk. “A bit old-fashioned, are we?”

 

“I suppose it’s just more of a keepsake than anything,” Rock responded sheepishly.

 

“You’re not the only one, I’ll tell you that. I’m pretty sure a handful of the original Founders like yourself still carry it around. Still clinging onto the last decade, it seems.”

 

The last decade had been a good decade for most of them, so it wasn’t really a surprise there.

 

“Well, lemme know if you need any help,” they responded before getting back to their desk work.

 

“Will do, thanks!” He walked away, heading towards the elevators behind the receptionist’s counter. His hand pressed the ID up against the scanner, and picking up the chip inside, it confirmed his identity and opened the elevator doors.

 

Rock entered, and he pressed the button to the third level, the main office floor.

 

The doors shut and the elevator rose. There was no turning back now… and he didn’t plan on it, either.


	2. Reunions

Multiverse Theory - New Start

Chapter 2: Reunions

 

The elevator only took a minute or less to reach its destination, but the feeling made him feel queasy, and not because of motion sickness. It was enough to make him shut his eyes tightly as memories flooded his mind.

 

Memories he secretly wished he could lock up, memories of the past, memories of the time he was fighting Dr. Wily and his robots, memories that would never happen, ever again--

 

“Rock! You’re here!”

 

He hadn’t even noticed the elevator door had opened, and of course, it was completely exposed to the office space. Rock opened his eyes and mentally sighed in relief as those thoughts of what he (more or less) wanted to go back to faded away and memories of the person who he instantly recognised filled his head.

 

It was Pit, one of his childhood (if you could call it that) friends and one of the 12 original Founders.

 

“C’mon, don’t just stand there!” Pit grabbed Rock’s arm, pulling him out of the elevator and allowing the doors to close behind him. “I know you have to check in, but please come see me when you’re done. It hasn’t been that long, but I’d really like to catch up.”

 

The last they had talked was back at one of the final big Smash tournaments, when they had parted ways for the most part. They were no longer hallway neighbors at the Smash Mansion, Rock supposed, but a thought ran in his head.

 

“You could’ve left me a message on the Founders app,” Rock responded, a nervous smile on his face. It was really meant for important communications, but private conversations were totally a thing and Rock had a couple group chats already that were both a mess of important details and internet memes…. or something along those lines.

 

“I know, but… don’t you think it’s better to talk face to face?” Rock was about to retort again, but Pit stopped him, giving a rather sassy look on his face. “And don’t tell me we could’ve met up anytime. I’ve been busy with work, you see, not to mention my duties as Palutena’s loyal angel. I just don’t have the time.”

 

“Alright, alright. You’ve pleaded your case.” Rock raised his palms up in surrender. “I’ll come over after I get settled in.”

 

Pit nodded and walked back over to his desk where his doppelganger was sitting across from him at his own. The office hadn’t changed much since he was left; the desks were all scattered across the room, free of any walls between them. They were mainly in groups of 2, 3 or 4 above floor outlets, made up of (usually) partners sitting together.

 

Due to the small amount of people in the Founders organization, most people got along well enough to work together and accomplish the same goal: to establish peace across the multiverse.

 

The main office was near the back of the floor, though the room hung off of a small hallway, not directly off of the commonplace office. This is where the leader of the agency resided, directing teams out into the field and following current events in all territories, regardless of the fact the place was bound to the Nintendo territory.

 

The Sony territory, the Microsoft territory, and the Valve territory, not to mention any world linked in-between was important as well, being the true Founders of the connected Multiverse.

 

Besides, if one territory fell, it was possible the others could be at risk, too.

 

Rock knocked on the door, hearing a polite “Come in” from the person behind it.

 

However, they sounded a bit too… feminine to be Luigi…?

 

He opened the door slowly, and then, without noticing who was at the desk, turned around to silently close the door behind him.

 

“Polite as ever, I see.”

 

That voice…

 

He spun around to face her, revealing to be none other than Samus herself, suited down into her Zero suit. As always, even if she was required to sit behind a desk all day, she’d still be ready for action.

 

“Samus? I didn’t know you stepped up as leader.” Rock was surprised, but not beyond shocked.

 

“As you know,” Samus began to explain, “Luigi is very busy with all the games he’s been in as of late. So, he asked if I could take his place. He did request I’d leave the door open, so to speak, if he ever had the time to resume his role.”

 

“But… Samus. _You’ll_ be busy soon enough.” News from the real world spread fast of Samus’s announced return, especially in the Nintendo territory.

 

“And when that time comes, I’ll announce someone to take my place,” she simply stated. A small smile appeared across her face. “Really, Rock, it won’t be too hard to find a replacement for me in my absence. I don’t expect it to be long, either. I’ll do my job and come right back, if reality allows.”

 

For once, he saw someone genuinely happy with their position here. Nobody ever actually said it aloud, but he knew many would rather be in their world, doing what they could for their creators and fans alike.

 

She immediately went towards the papers sitting on her desk, flipping through them until she reached a certain paper. “Well… I suppose I should tell you your group assignment, but…” She paused, shaking her head and smiling as she stared down at the paper, “honestly, it shouldn't be a surprise.”

 

Rock only had to process it for a second before it dawned on him. “It’s Pit and Dark Pit, isn’t it?”

 

“Yes, of course.” Her face went serious as she looked up at him, making direct contact. “You’ve known at least Pit the longest, and well, you never seemed to have any issues with Dark Pit back during the tournaments, so it was the most clear choice.”

 

“Thanks, Samus.” He really appreciated being teamed up with friends. “Anything else I should know?”

 

“There’s some assignments coming up later this week, but the two of them should fill you in on that themselves.”

 

“Understood.” Rock nodded and started to leave, however, Samus stopped him in his tracks.

 

“Wait, Rock,” she spoke as he turned the door handle. He didn’t pull the door open, and turned his head enough to where he could see her. Her smile returned. “It’s good to have you back.”

 

“It’s good to be back,” he responded, and with that, took his leave from the leader’s office, out to his new desk on the office floor.


	3. Epilogue

Multiverse Theory - New Start

Chapter 3: Epilogue (For the First Day)

 

“So, how was your first day at work, Rock?”

 

Roll leaned over the dining room table to meet face-to-face with her brother sitting on the other side, her face filled with excited curiosity. As she grabbed his attention, he was on his work-issued laptop, working on some research for an upcoming reconnaissance

assignment.

 

“Ah, it was pretty exciting, actually.” He smiled and glanced away from his work to meet his eyes with hers, encouraging her curiosity for his work.

 

“Samus is apparently the new leader in place of Luigi,” Roll nodded vigorously in understanding, motioning for him to go on, “and she ended up pairing me up with Pit and Dark Pit, as well as getting issued equipment and all that,” motioning towards the computer. 

 

“Oh, how did that go? Were they just as excited to work with you?”

 

“Well…” he could’ve summed it up, but chose not to for his little sister’s enjoyment, “how about I just tell you?”

 

\---

 

_ Rock left the room with a smile on his face, unusually confident and excited with anticipation. Heading back into the main office, he noticed something that caught the attention of his long-term memory. _

 

_ There were now three tables instead of two by where Pit and Pittoo resided.  _

 

_ “Ta-da!” Pit exclaimed as Rock got closer to the group of desks. “We moved over your new desk as soon as you went to see Samus.” _

 

_ “So… you knew already.” _

 

_ “Of course we did! Tell him, Pittoo!” Pittoo didn’t even flinch as he crossed his arms and gave a small ‘humph’. Pit pouted. “You could've at least played along.” _

 

_ “Hey, Pittoo,” Rock greeted. He wasn’t beyond saying hello… was he? They were nowhere as close as him and Pit were, especially since they had barely talked at the Smash tournaments. _

 

_ “Hey,” was all he responded back with a smirk on his face. So, he  _ **_wasn’t_ ** _ beyond a hello then. Good to know. _

 

_ “So, what did you bring to show-and-tell?” Pit joked, motioning to the backpack he had brought with him. After all, no desk was perfect without some personal flair. _

 

_ “Well,” he responded while pulling the backpack and starting to unload it, “some framed pictures, a set of my old figurines of the 90’s cartoon, and I mean  _ **_my_ ** _ 90’s cartoon, not Captain N--” _

 

_ “Oh, thank Palutena for that,” Pit interrupted. “There’s no way there was figures for that mess of a series… is there?” _

 

_ “--I don’t think so. Finally, a good luck charm of mine.”  _

 

_ “...A collector’s pin?” Pittoo observed, his eyes narrowed in confusion. “I don’t recognize the symbol.” _

 

_ “Ah, well,” he responded sheepishly. “It’s just a reminder of someone close to me.” _

 

_ “I recognize it,” Pit nodded. “Is this how you keep him close to you?” _

 

_ Rock was feeling rather embarrassed. Of course Pit knew. “Y-Yeah.” _

 

_ “He’d be very honored to hear that, you know.” _

 

_ “M-hm.” His face had to be the shade of a tomato by now. Knowing what kind of reputation he had, it was the last thing people would expect him to have as a good luck charm. _

 

_ “Oops, sorry, Rock.” Pit was now realizing the embarrassment he had caused him. “Let’s just move on, shall we?” Pit looked over at his double and nodded to each other. “We’ll go get your standard issue stuff from the back, and then we’ll talk about our missions.” _

 

_ “Will do,” and with that, Pit and Pittoo were out of sight. Rock sighed, a bit uneasy, but friends were like that sometimes. He propped up the pictures on his desk, three of them. The first one of the team from Smash tournament, which included himself and all the members of his Final Smash.  _

 

_ X, EXE, Star Force, and Volnutt… They had their own obligations to go back to now, but being apart of the tournament had been just as exciting for them as it had been for him. _

 

_ The second was of everyone who was a ‘playable’ protagonist over the years. There was quite a few of them, but mainly the character(s) on the cover. Rock never liked leaving anyone out, especially the heroes of the Neo Arcadia timeline. _

 

_ And then, as almost  _ **_needed_ ** _ , there was a picture of his own family. Dr. Light, himself, Roll-- heck, he had even somehow forced Blues to be apart of this photo-- all stood outside of the place they called home… at one time or another, anyways. _

 

_ There was so many more photos of him and his friends but they were more personal and secret to common knowledge. They were kept at home and in his wallet. _

 

_ He organized the other things onto the desk as Pit and Pittoo came back with a issue-standard laptop and a beige folder.  _

 

_ “These are the laptops we use for work purposes. You’ll have to login while you’re still here so you can take it home with you,” Pit laid the laptop down in front of him, along with Pittoo placing down a matching laptop case and charger. _

 

_ “And this,” Pit said, holding up the beige folder before placing it down, “is for Dr. Light. It’s got teleport codes and both public and private comlinks for the agency. They’ve changed since the last time you were here, so you’ll need to get those set.” _

 

_ There was a small bit of surprise in Rock’s voice. “Oh, thanks.” He hadn’t expected this codes so quickly, though he supposed they had learned from the last time he had asked for them. _

 

_ “Well, let’s see…” Pit hummed, “Missions this week. We’ve got a recon in a couple days in Sector B, Company 8, Universe 3… and task assisting a couple days after that. You remember what that is, right?” _

 

_ “They’re like…” Rock though for a moment. “Side quests, right? Boring, but to increase relations with our territory?” _

 

_ “That’s right,” Pit nodded.  _

 

_ “The recon is new,” Rock noted out loud, expecting an answer. _

 

_ “It is new,” to his surprise, Pittoo said. “Pit said the exact same thing when we came back.” _

 

_ “So, I did. What’s the crime?” Pit rolled his eyes, returning his focus to the trainee. “It’s to scope out potential strengths and weaknesses, not to mention to look for any suspicious activity.  _

 

_ Of course, we have to do research before we leave to respect the area and its inhabitants.” _

 

_ “Are you giving me homework on my first day back?” Rock joked. _

 

_ “Doesn’t have to be homework if you get it done in class,” Pit joked back, then adding something a little more serious in tone. “But yes, essentially, it becomes homework. Welcome back to school that nobody in this workplace probably never went to.” _

 

_ It was true, after all. _

 

_ Pit continued after a short pause. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it. We should all get started on that research.” _

 

_ “You mean you haven’t even started on it?” Pit was no slouch when it came to his work, and he knew the same had to go for Dark Pit, too. _

 

_ “We get assignments at the beginning of the work week, so... today.” _

 

_ “Right.” Today was Monday… the lousiest day of the week, by opinion. _

 

_ With that all out of the way, the rest of the day went by rather quickly, the dull work chatter interrupted by Pit’s humor and Dark Pit’s complaints. _

 

_ It wouldn’t be too bad working here after all. _

 

_ \--- _

 

“Wow! That’s really cool!” Roll responded at last. “Did you remember to give Dad the folder?”

 

“Yeah, first thing I did when I got home.” Rock laughed a bit. “He told me to say hi to Lady Palutena when I got a chance. Such a odd thing to say, but then again, when was the last time they’ve chat?” Not to mention the fact that they were both the ‘navigator’ type character in their respective lives.

 

“It is weird,” Roll agreed, “but when you see the multiverse as how it is, it’s just a mixture of relationships.”

 

Genres aside, truly anyone could be friends or even more than that in this world, and ‘reality’ could never question it.

 

“Roll,” their father said as he peeked through the door frame to the dining room, “could you make dinner for two tonight? I have a friend of ours visiting later tonight.”

 

They both turned to look at him as he smiled proudly at the two of them. “Of course, Dr. Light! I’ll get started right away.” And like that he was gone, back to the surprisingly busy workflow he had made himself. 

 

Roll turned back to her brother. “This isn’t over. You have to tell me about the other things you do this week, too, regardless of how boring it might be.”

 

“You know I’d love to.” They said short farewells as Roll headed to the kitchen and Rock got back to his research… and the group chat where Pit, Pittoo, and even the addition of Lady Palutena and Viridi added to the usual antics he was already used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the collector's pin... I wanted to reference it so badly, but due where it STILL stands with the video game community, I didn't mention whose it was directly. Just throw your own headcanons in there or something.
> 
> Also, a quick thanks to my best friend Emily beta-reading, as always. Chapter 2 was a freaking mess.


End file.
